History, romance revealed in local author’s debut

When her baby girl is stolen out of her arms, noblewoman Annia will do anything to find her — even brave the treacherous back alleys of Rome.

TONY SIMMONS | PanamaCity.com

LYNN HAVEN — When her baby girl is stolen out of her arms, noblewoman Annia will do anything to find her — even brave the treacherous back alleys of Rome. Desperate to be reunited with her daughter, Annia finds herself up against a fierce Roman soldier who insists her baby is safe. Dare she trust him?

That’s the premise of “Her Roman Protector,” the new novel from Harlequin’s “Love Inspired” imprint, written by Panama City native Milinda Jay Stephenson (writing as Milinda Jay). Stephenson got the idea for the novel many years ago, while conducting research for her dissertation.

“I came across information on this barbaric practice of infant exposure — where babies are set out to either die or be taken by slave traders because the father does not want the baby for some reason,” she said. “It could be that there is not enough money to support the baby, or that the baby is in some way handicapped, or because the baby is a girl and the father does not want to pay the dowry. Anyway, all I could think about was the poor mothers. What would they feel after carrying a baby for nine months, and then having the baby taken away?”

Stephenson wrote the first draft of the novel as a “National Novel Writing Month” project after finishing her dissertation and while waiting to graduate. She earned her doctorate in literature at Florida State University, determined to spend the rest of her career “writing something people might actually want to read,” she said.

She pitched the book to a Harlequin new talent contest, and the editor asked to see the full manuscript. After doing some revisions the editor requested, she waited to hear a response. Some weeks later, she saw a missed call on her phone and a message from the editor, who only said she would call the next day to talk about the manuscript.

Panic set in, as Stephenson wondered what the editor might say. She spent a sleepless night checking her phone, and finally returned the call herself the next morning. The editor told Stephenson she wanted to purchase the book.

“I don’t think I could hear anything else she said,” Stephenson said. “My ears were full of this whirring sound, and my brain had these little cheerleaders holding up a banner screaming one sentence, over and over, ‘We want to buy your manuscript.’ Honestly, it was all I could hear.”

Stephenson said having a book published after years of writing multiple drafts and revisions “is like getting married or giving birth” — one of the happiest moments of her life.

Stephenson now teaches at North Bay Haven High School and FSU-Panama City (which she said has always been her goal). She also teaches sewing and embroidery classes, and she meets with a writing group twice a month, where they share chapters and critique one another’s work. Our interview preceded one of the writers’ meetings at Lynn Haven’s Starbucks recently.

“I write every day,” she said when asked about her process. “The first draft is very messy. I have to write the entire draft before I can figure out what the book is about. There’s an extensive revision process. Revising is a huge part of it.”

Stephenson also studied history (despite her father’s suggestion to reconsider) and has a background in feminist theology. She said she gets “really angry when a historical novel is not accurate.” Now working on her ninth manuscript, she plans to mine other overlooked parts of history for gems she can polish into romantic tales.